Harley Street (CPC) Limited

Updated 3 October 2023

LVL Health is a chronic pain and medical cannabis clinic specialising in treatments for patients who have not found satisfactory results for their conditions with their previous medication. The clinic was set up to carry out a study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a defined cannabis based medicinal product (CBPM) delivered by inhalation, using a specific device, to patients with chronic non cancer pain. The service is for adults over the age of eighteen. The medicines are prescribed by experienced medical staff working within the latest governmental guidelines.

The service is located at 76 Harley Street, London, W1G 7HH. The building entrance lobby is accessed via steps from the pavement. Wheelchair access is via a ramp at the front of the building. The service has access to consultation rooms and a waiting area for patients. However, at the time of our inspection all consultations took place online.

The usual opening hours are 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Patients can also book appointments for evenings and weekends. The medical team comprises of consultants and GPs who specialise in pain. There is a nurse and management and administration staff.

How we inspected this service

We reviewed information sent to us by the provider remotely prior to attending the inspection. We spoke with the lead nurse, the clinical director and the business director. We looked at records related to patient assessments and the provision of care and treatment. We also reviewed documentation related to the management of the service. We reviewed patient feedback provided to a third party.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 3 October 2023

This service is rated as Good overall. This is the providers first inspection.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection of LVL Health under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the service was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

LVL Health is a private clinic that provides medical treatment for patients. The main treatment offered are Cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs), which are prescribed by experienced medical staff working within the latest Governmental guidelines.

The lead nurse is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Our key findings were:

• Care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.

• The provider had systems in place to protect people from avoidable harm and abuse.

• There was a clear vision to provide a safe, personalised, high-quality service.

• Patients could access care and treatment from the service within an appropriate timescale for their needs.

• The service had a comprehensive business development strategy that effectively monitored the service provided to assure safety and patient satisfaction.

• We saw evidence that the provider was engaged with organisations and policy makers in relation to gathering data about the efficacy of CBPMs on non-cancerous chronic pain.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review the clinician onboarding induction to make sure it offers a comprehensive training package that would include training around CBPMs, unlicensed medication and internal processes and systems.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Healthcare